Page 76 of Don't Quit the Day Job

"I don't know. Something better than this. I think we need to get you a coffee machine."

"When I get my first paycheck," I remind him.

"Uh-huh." He stands up and heads toward me. "Why do you look so adorable in that towel? Is it bad that I want to rip it off of you and take you right here, right now?"

"Yeah, well, you're not going to do that because we have to be at work."

"I know. Are you still going to get me my coffee and my bagel this morning?" I glare at him and he starts laughing. "I'm joking, I'm joking. I do not expect you to get them for me today. In fact, maybe I'll treat both of us to breakfast before we go in."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, that's?—"

“No, I know if I expect some good work out of you today, you will need to eat," he says. “And if you expect me to not be a grouchy asshole all day, I’m going to need some food too.”

He steps back for a couple of seconds and takes a deep breath while running his fingers through his hair.

"So there was something I wanted to say before we head out."

"Oh?" I ask him, curious.

The air has shifted slightly and I'm not sure what is going on.

"So, we haven't really known each other that long."

"No, we haven't."

"And you're my assistant."

"I'm the very best assistant in all the land," I say, and he chuckles.

"And, well…I just don't want this to get out of the office, so if we could keep it between ourselves…" He makes a face. "You know, I would appreciate it."

"Of course," I say quickly, feeling absolutely devastated, like some sort of hooker that he's hooked up with on the side and doesn't want anyone to know about. "I mean, it's not like I would tell anyone that I hooked up with you. I wouldn't want to get a bad reputation or anything."

"What does that mean?" he says, frowning.

"I mean I wouldn't want people to think I was sleeping with the boss to get ahead or anything."

"Well, you're not sleeping with me to get ahead. That's not the reason why I don't want to discuss it, I'm just?—”

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to get changed now. I suggest that you have your shower so that we can get some breakfast. There's a lot of work to do today, and I'm sure you're going to want to work on the Jack Whittington case and figure that shit out.”

"About that, Lila?—"

"It's fine, you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm just your assistant, and you're the attorney that went to law school and knows the law and all that good stuff." I shrug. "I mean, hey, you've got to do what you've got to do, right?"

"Are you upset with me, Lila? Is it something I said?"

He steps forward and tries to grab my hands.

"No. I guess I just realized the time and I don't want us to miss any more of the workday or anything." I press my lips together. "You should shower." I give him a fake smile. "And I should get ready. I want to make sure that I look professional, and that no one thinks that I'm sleeping my way ahead at the firm."

"Lila, that's not what I meant. I was just saying that?—"

"It doesn't matter, Max. We had some fun, I'm sure we can both agree to that, but we're adults. That's all it was. We had a fun night, and we don't ever have to talk about it again.” I can hear the petulance in my voice and I know that I should let him explain, but I’m too in my feelings to be rational about what he’s said. I want to tell the world about our amazing night, but obviously he doesn’t feel the same. I’m not going to allow him to see how much he’s hurt me. I can play it cool as well. However, the look on his face tells me that he thinks I’m being a child and my stomach sinks even further to the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Max

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